Page 17 of Fractured Constellations
He flinches, two growls sounding from the other side of the bed, but before I can look behind me, Blade’s hand lashes out, gripping my jaw and preventing me from moving. I expect his touch to hurt, for his grip to be too tight, but it’s not. He’s holding me in place, but only warmth comes from his fingertips.
“Blade,” Thorn warns in a low tone, like he’s angry at his brother for the rough treatment. I can’t tell him I’m okay, that it doesn’t hurt but burns in the most intoxicating way, because I’m drowning in swirling, forest green eyes.
“Don’t say that shit. You aren’t going anywhere,” Blade snarls in a whisper, his words sending a shiver down my spine.
“Oh, really? And you’re going to be the one to stop my cancer, are you?”
I’m fucking furious, my body vibrating with anger at thinking he controls the disease I’ve been fighting since I was ten years old. Pissed at the world that would put me through this shit again after all I’ve been through.
“Yes. I will fucking rip it out of you if I have to.” My breath stalls completely at his words, my heart giving a stupid jolt at the possession that shines in his eyes. The world around me doesn’texist, just Blade and his insane promise to heal me. “And do you know why?”
“So you can keep tormenting me,” I reply sarcastically, and his plush lips pull up into a devilish smirk that sets my cursed blood alight.
“If that’s what I choose to do with you. You are mine, Princess. You belong to us, and I won’t allow you to go anywhere until I’m done with you. I’ll fight off god himself if he tries to take you from me.”
“You’re fucking crazy,” I rasp, tugging my face free and breaking the spell he has me under. Then I turn my gaze to the others, finding Thorn’s fists gripping the rail of my hospital bed. “You all hate me.” One of Thorn’s hands releases the side and comes up, his knuckles brushing my cheek in a gesture that is too sweet, especially with the way his hand trembles slightly. His soft scent of amber and dark rum surrounds me, and I can’t help but take in a deep breath.
“There’s a fine line between hate and… something else, Goldie,” he murmurs, and tears fill my eyes. I can’t deal with this. I need them to go back to being the assholes I know and dislike. Not these gentle protectors.
“You were right,” I say, his brows dipping. “About us being gold diggers. My mom…she only wanted your dad for his money.”
Thorn’s jaw tightens, a flare of anger making the green of his eyes blaze.
“And why was that, Star?” Chase rumbles, and my gaze moves to him standing next to Thorn, his thick arms crossed over his chest, mirroring Blade’s position of moments ago. I shake my head, refusing to say a word, even if the new nickname has my chest warming. His arms uncross, then he’s holding the metal railing and leaning over, his spicy scent of warm cinnamon washing over me in a way that shouldn’t relax all mytense muscles but does anyway. “You found out your cancer had come back two days before they eloped, and I know your mom was up to her eyeballs in debt from the last round of treatment you had.”
The tears that I’d been holding back fall, burning my cheeks as they drip down them to land on my fists in my lap. The lump in my throat is so thick I can’t even ask how the fuck he knows my history. That shit is meant to be confidential, but I guess when you’re as rich as the Banks family, you find a way.
“We don’t hate you for using our money to get better, Princess,” Blade says tenderly from beside me, his long fingers grasping my chin again in a gentle hold and turning my face to him. “But you should have told us from the start. We wouldn’t have…” he trails off, a frustrated sigh leaving his lips. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk so much, never mind with such a softness to his usually gruff voice.
“I wanted a fresh start,” I tell him, my words rushed as I try to ease the torment that lurks in his eyes and the crease between his brows, even though they were so horrible to me before today. “I didn’t want to be the girl who had cancer anymore.” My voice hitches and I bite my lower lip to stop the pain from overwhelming me. The heartbreak of knowing that I am that girl again, that this disease is defining me again.
“You are so much more than that, Luna,” he tells me earnestly, leaning down and brushing a kiss on my forehead that stops my heart completely. Straightening up and releasing my chin, his fingers tangle with mine as I try to relearn how to function again. “Let’s get you home so you can rest.”
“O–okay,” I croak, clearing my throat as I swing my legs to the side of the bed—the side that Blade is on has no metal guards—and place my feet on the floor. His hand holds mine as I get up, which is lucky because a wave of dizziness has me sagging into him as soon as I’m upright.
“Shit, Luna!” he exclaims, his voice sharp with panic as he catches me and I rest my head on his chest, letting his smokey vanilla scent wash over me. His heart is beating so hard I can feel it under my cheek, and it’s steadying in a world which feels like it’s spiraling out of control.
“I’m okay, just get dizzy sometimes after treatment,” I tell him, closing my eyes and breathing him in. It shouldn’t calm me, not after the way he and his brothers have alienated me ever since I moved into their mansion, but my body hasn’t gotten that memo and relaxes into him as he holds me close.
“I’ll get a wheelchair,” I hear Thorn say, and I wrinkle my nose.
“I’ll be fine. I will not be wheeled out of here like I’m too weak to walk,” I growl, my pride not allowing that, even though I know that I probably should take it easy.
“You are infuriating, you know that, Goldilocks?” Blade grumbles, and something unfurls inside my chest at the nickname. Then he’s picking me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing, pulling me close so that my head can keep resting on his chest.
I squeak, my eyes flying open, but again, my body betrays me by wrapping my arms around his neck and snuggling into him like the teddy bear he is not.
“Takes one to know one, big brother,” I sass back, feeling his huff of laughter under my cheek. I like that sound, like the fact that I was the one to cause it.
“Chase, grab her bag and let’s get the fuck out of here. I fucking hate hospitals,” Blade orders as he walks. My cheeks flush when Judy, my nurse, gives me a salacious wink.
“See you next month, honey,” she says, her tone promising me I’ll be spilling all the beans when I see her next.Urgh.
“I can walk,” I huff, although it’s not that convincing, especially as I just snuggle closer into him, letting the exhaustion wash over me in waves.
“Sure you can,” he says dryly as Thorn opens the door and then hurries over to the elevator, pressing the down button. My eyelids flutter, and Blade tightens his grip. “Wait until we get you to the car, Princess. Then you can sleep on the way home.”
I mumble an agreement, my eyelids just too heavy to keep open any longer.
